Untitled Colleen and Andrew story
by Doubt-and-Abbey
Summary: UPDATED Everyday story about Colleen and Andrew and their relationship with Matthew and his fiance. Struggles of love, money and family.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, ****The**** Sullivan Company and to A&E.**

**My first shot at writing. Just wanted to know what people other than my family think. **

**A/N: ****only ****kinda**** follows the story of the show. Andrew and Colleen are married for about 1 year, after Colleen graduates from Med. School. Anne is Andrew's cousin who can for the wedding and stayed because she liked the area and Matthew. Andrew is definitely a different character in my writing. I like to write him as more manly, laid back, Matthew like person. Any other questions you can e-mail me.**

Andrew woke to the familiar sounds and smells of breakfast being made. He rolled over and stretched, Colleen had been up for at least an hour. He dressed in black pants, a green shirt open at the collar, and an open grey vest. He pulled his high black boots over his pants and made his way to the kitchen.

"Morning," he said as he gave his wife a lingering kiss, "breakfast smells great." He tuned and rolled up his sleeves as he sat at the head of the table.

"Are you going to shave that beard anytime soon?" asked Colleen as she ran her fingers through his bed-messy hair and down to his thick, black beard.

"Only when I don't like it anymore," he looked up at her with a big smile, "why, don't you like it?" He stood up and grabbed Colleen around her small waist. He leaned down and nuzzled her neck.

"Andrew." She giggled, he kissed her, "Maybe I do like it. You look very handsome."

"Ah, Shucks Miss Cooper, you're makin' me blush." Andrew said in his best school boy accent. He kissed her neck again and hugged her to him.

"I hope you two aren't burning breakfast," laughed Anne as she walked into the kitchen. Colleen broke away from Andrew, smiled at Anne and turned back to the stove. Andrew sat back down and picked up his newspaper.

"How did you sleep, Anne?" Colleen asked he best friend as she set the eggs on the table and poured thee cups of coffee.

"Thanks," Anne replied as she accepted her coffee, "I slept very well, how about you?"

"Good," answered Colleen as she put the bacon, biscuits and potatoes on the table and sat down, "What are you doing today?"

"Matthew is coming to get me, he's going to take me out to see the land he bought," smiled Anne, playing happily with her engagement ring.

"Oh yeah?" replied Colleen, "That sounds nice. Are you going to pack a picnic?"

"I didn't think about that, but yeah, that sounds fun," Replied Anne.

"If you wanna get Matthew to marry you, don't cook for him until its official and he's stuck with you for good."

"Andrew James!" admonished Colleen, "Don't be mean to your cousin!"

Andrew laughed, "She's never cooked for you. I would know, when we were younger she would try to get me to eat all the crazy things she had cooked up."

"OK, so I'm not a great cook," Anne smiled at Andrew, "But maybe with the help of your wonderful wife I can start to practice and get better."

Colleen smiled, "Sure, I can help. What time is he coming over?"

"He's picking me up around noon"

"OK, we can make some sandwiches and potato salad, he loves that, and I have some cookies you can take."

"Thanks Colleen," replied Anne. She got up and started to clear the dishes.

"Thanks for breakfast," Andrew said as he kissed Colleen's cheek and took his plate to the wash sink, "I have some chores to do in the barn. Have fun cooking." Andrew put on his hat and headed outside.

Colleen looked at Anne, "After we get cleaned up, we can start getting' your picnic ready."

As Matthew Cooper pulled around the last bend in the road, he caught sight of his sister's homestead. He directed the wagon up the last part of the narrow dirt road and pulled up to the house. He hopped down and glanced into the open barn doors. Matthew walked into the corral and towards the barn. Andrew was mucking out the stalls as Matthew entered.

"How ya doin' Andrew?" asked Matthew. Andrew looked up and smiled when he saw his best friend. He leaned his shovel against the stall, and came around his horse.

"Hey Matthew, going good, how 'bout you?" Their work-glove clad hands shook. "Anne told me you bought your land."

"Yeah I signed the papers yesterday," he smiled and leaned against the door jam. "I actually wanted to talk to you about that. I told Anne that we couldn't get married until I finished the new homestead. And I was wondering if you could give me a hand now and again with the buildin'?"

"Of course, whenever you out there just let me know," answered Andrew. He was happy his cousin had chosen someone that Andrew already liked. He and Matthew were best friends, Matthew had been Andrew's best man and Matthew had already asked Andrew to be his.

"I'm not going to have the time or the money to do it real quick. But I need to do it myself. You know."

"Yeah I know what you mean." Andrew paused, "I know you won't take it and I wouldn't accept it if I were you, but I gotta ask." There was another pause, " I can lend you the money if you need it."

Matthew smiled, "Thanks but I don't think so." Hey both nodded. Taking care of your family is something they both understood. No matter how hard you have to work, you do it so you know you can take care of things on your own. They would probably never talk about that offer again.

"Come on, Anne and Colleen are making a picnic for you." They headed toward the house, walked around the side and entered through the back door.

"Ok, now we can just grab a blanket and you'll be all set." Colleen had just placed the last of the food into a large basket.

"I'll run upstairs and get a quilt out of the linen closet." Anne turned and headed up the stairs. Colleen stared on the dirty dishes as Andrew and Matthew entered.

"Hey Matthew," Colleen said as Matthew came over to give her a kiss on the cheek. Both he and Andrew grabbed a cookie out of the jar.

"Hey little sister, this looks good," he said as he peeked into the basket, "Where is Anne?"

"She ran upstairs to get a blanket," replied Colleen as she swatted away Andrews hand when he reached for another cookie, "Andrew it's almost lunch." Her scolding was interrupted by the sounds of Anne coming down the stairs. She went directly to Matthew and gave him a small kiss.

"Hi," she said and turned to the table and placed the blanket she was carrying onto the food.

"Hi," he replied back.

"I'm so excited about seeing the land. When are you going to start builing?"

"Well I can start diggin' the foundation out and then building it up. Andrew said he would help me. We could start tomorrow?"

"That sounds fine to me, I'll be there after breakfast," answered Andrew.

"Great, thanks," Matthew looked at Anne, "ready to go?" Matthew grabbed the basket with one hand and Anne with the other.

"Have fun," smiled Colleen. She leaned against Andrew and waved at their retreating forms.

"Not too much fun!" yelled Andrew in a joking voice. He smiled at his own joke and looked down at Colleen. She was shaking her head at him and slapped him in the stomach. "What?"

"You're horrible," smiled Colleen then pulled Andrew down for a kiss.

…to be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

"We're almost finished up with digging the cellar out at Matthews," yawned Andrew as he sat down on the edge of the bed to take off his boots and socks, "I bet we can get it done tomorrow and start building up the foundation and chimney." He turned around and smiled at Colleen settling under the covers in bed, leaning on the headboard.

"That's great; Anne is so excited about the wedding. She's hoping that the homestead will be done before the end of the summer so the ceremony can be outside in the meadow." Andrew paused before throwing his shirt in the laundry basket on the floor, he looked confused. Colleen noted his expression, "What it is?"

"Well the house won't be done by then so she doesn't have to start worrying about the plans just yet," laughed Andrew as he climbed on the bed toward Colleen, tucking the hair behind her ear and kissing her neck. It was Colleens turn to look confused. Andrew didn't notice and moved from nipping her neck to kissing her lips. Colleen pushed him away slightly.

"What are you talking about? Not done?"

"Can't we talk about this later?" Andrew smiled and began kissing her again, one hand reaching for the buttons of her nightdress. Colleen placed her hand on top of his, stopping his progress. Andrew sat back on his haunches, "Are you ok darlin'?"

"I don't understand; when is the house going to be done?"

Andrew shrugged, "Not sure, when Matthew has the money to buy the supplies, and the time between his cases. It's probably going to take a year…at least."

"But you have gotten so much done already and it's only been a week." Colleen shook her head in disbelief.

"Colleen," Andrew sat back and leaned against his pillow, "everything we've done so far has been free and we're just picking the stones from the woods." He pulled Colleen to him by the shoulders and kissed the top of her head, "It'll get done when it gets done; the wedding can wait for a little bit."

"I guess," Colleen replied softly, still upset. "Goodnight," Colleen reached up, lightly kissed Andrew's cheek, rolled away from him and into silence. Andrew looked dejectedly at Colleen and blew out the lamp.

Over the next month Matthew and Andrew worked hard on the foundation of the new homestead. Between Matthew's law cases, Andrew's patients, their everyday chores and their significant others, they had only just completed the first portion of the foundation. It was a slow process and they were both committed to doing it right. Their progress was coming to a halt; Matthew was going to Denver for two weeks to attend a conference. Colleen had not mentioned wedding plans to anyone but Anne since the night of her and Andrew's conversation. Anne, predictably, was taking it much worse than Colleen.

"I don't know why we can't just get married before the homestead is built," asked Anne, wiping a tear from her cheek, "We could live at the boarding house, I don't care. I just want to be his wife." Colleen handed Anne her handkerchief. They were sitting alone at Colleen's kitchen table.

"Matthew won't let his wife live in a boarding house. He's far too proud. He'll feel like he failed at being a man or something stupid like that." Colleen dropped her head into her hand. "The only way Matthew will get married is if he can finish that house and the only way he'll finish the house is if enough money somehow appeared in his lap." Colleen's head popped up. "Hold on a minute, I'll be right back."

"Andrew!" He looked up from the wood that he was chopping to see his wife running towards him with her skirts in hand. "Andrew!" She reached him and paused to catch her breath, "You need to take money out of the bank." Andrew dropped his ax against the chopping block.

"Why? What's wrong?" Andrew was concerned, "For what?"

"I'm fine, nothing is wrong," Colleen smiled. "Anne and Matthew can get married if the house is finished, right? He can finish the house if he has the money, so we lend them the money." Andrew frowned and turned away from Colleen. "What? It's a good idea." Andrew began gathering up the chopped wood. He walked it over to the wood pile by the house; Colleen was silent, waiting for a reply. After all the wood was piled up, he started toward the barn. Colleen was fast on his heels. "Andrew." She said sternly, "Why aren't you answering?"

"We aren't giving them any money."

"Don't you want your cousin and best friend to be happy?!" Colleen stood waiting for his reply, hand on cocked hip. "We have the money that your father left you in his will."

"I know we do, that's not the point." Andrew turned angrily towards her. His voice rose, "And of course I want them to be happy! That was a dumb question."

Colleen fumed, "Then enlighten me, what exactly is the point?"

"They need to do this on their own. And if we were in their shoes I would say the same thing."

"So if we weren't married and we didn't have the money to build a house you just wouldn't marry me?" Colleen looked hurt. Her arms crossed over her chest and she leaned heavily against a stall.

"That's not what I said. We would get married _after_ a house was built. Look sweetheart," Andrew paused, he knew that Colleen was upset, "they need to learn to trust each other. Would our marriage be as strong as it is if we had relied on other people for everything?" Colleen hung her head, walked to Andrew and put her arms around his waist. Andrew draped one arm around her and pulled her close.

"I want them to be happy as much as you do…I offered Matthew money. I knew he wouldn't take it but I wanted him to know that I was willing to help." Colleen smiled up at Andrew.

"I just hope the homestead doesn't take _too_ long."


	3. Chapter 3

"So Matthew what did you do at the conference?" asked Dr. Mike as she dished up mashed potatoes. The whole family was welcoming Matthew home with a big dinner at the Sully homestead.

"I learned a lot," he answered, "There were lectures about specific fields of law that I really liked, I sat in on as many as I could get to."

"It sounds like you had a nice time," all the plates were full and Dr. Mike sat down at the head of the table, "Glad to be home?"

"Definitely," he smiled at his adoptive mother, then at Anne and pulled her into his chest and kissed her head. He turned and looked at Andrew, "I don't think I'm going to start back up on the house for a while. I gotta get caught up on my cases and all."

Andrew swallowed, "I figured you would have to. I've been going out as much as I could and gathering stones. I probably have about a wagon full." Matthew clapped him on the back around Anne, "Although your sister here has been tryin' to stop me." He turned and smiled a Colleen.

She had a look of shock on her face, "You're gonna kill yourself liftin' those rocks by yourself. I was just saying that if you hurt yourself, you wouldn't have me to nurse you back to health." Everyone laughed at their friendly banter.

"Ok you two," Anne broke in, "don't get into a fight over us." Andrew put his arm around his wife and gave her a secret smile. "Let's clean this up and have dessert in the sitting room." Anne, Colleen and Dr. Mike cleaned the table and everyone migrated to the sitting area.

"How many want pie?" asked Colleen, looking into the crowd of her family. Everyone, even Katie raised their hand. After everyone was served, Colleen took her plate and sat on the floor by Katie, sharing her dessert with her baby sister.

"That pie was amazing Colleen," Sully praised as he handed his plate to Dr. Mike and leaned back in his seat. "I'll be over bright and early so me and Andrew can pick enough blackberries for you to make pies to last all year," Sully laughed along with the rest of the family as other compliments were offered to Colleen baking skills.

"How is Sarah doin' Brian?" Colleen asked as she returned from cleaning the dessert dishes and sat on Andrew's lap. "I haven't seen her in a while." Everyone's eye's swiveled to a blushing Brian.

"She's fine."

"Well you just haven't been bringing her around as much, I was just wondering if you two were courtin'?"

"I saw 'em kissin' behind the barn!" exclaimed Katie. Brian's face got even redder and his eye's grew wide.

"Katie, it's not polite to spy," reprimanded Dr. Mike, she turned from her young daughter to her youngest son, "Brian, what were you doing behind the barn with Sarah?"

"Ma!" Brian's voice cracked, "Why does that matter, we were just kissin'! Katie shouldn't of been spyin'! Besides, how many times did you catch Colleen and Andrew kissin' behind the barn when they were courtin'?" Colleen's mouth dropped and Andrew started to chuckle.

"We aren't talking about them young man," Dr. Mike replied quickly. She looked at Katie, "And yes, Katie should _not_ have been spying. Understand?" Katie nodded. Dr. Mike looked back at Brain, "You're only 17; I think the two of you just need be a little more cautious." Brian huffed but agreed. There was some awkward silence to follow.

"Did we really get caught that many times?" Colleen asked, unsure. Everyone gave a smile and nodded.

"Andrew, we're gonna be late for church," Colleen giggled. Andrew was kissing his way down her side. She struggled and twisted against his hands that were holding her hands near the headboard. He let go of her hands and she pulled on his hair, bringing their lips together.

"We could skip this week, no one would notice." Andrew ducked under the sheets and nibbled on the skin beside her bellybutton.

Colleen sat up with a shriek and smiled against his lips, "No we can't, _everyone_ would notice. This isn't Boston, they know everything, the town is too small for them not to." Colleen kissed him, her actions contradicting her worlds. Andrew groaned in frustration, burying his face in her neck, "I would love to stay like this in bed with you all day, but your cousin is expecting us to take her into town for church."

"Fine," Andrew sighed. "But you owe me." Colleen disentangled herself from Andrew, stood and went to pull on her robe. She glanced down and noticed a bite mark on her stomach. She walked to the mirror and saw at least three other marks covering her body, particularly a large one on her neck. Andrew walked up behind her, tucking in his shirt.

"Look at what you did!" Colleen turned to face him and pointed out the marks, "Why?"

"I was marking my territory," Andrew laughed. Colleen mumbled something about cavemen as Andrew leaned in and kissed her.

Colleen and Anne spread out a blanket in the meadow after church as the rest of the family gathered around for their weekly picnic. They set out the food and everyone dug into ham sandwiches, egg salad, pie, cookies and iced tea. When the dishes where put away to be cleaned later, they all sat back and relaxed.

"That was yummy," said Katie around the last bite of a cookie. "Can I go play with the other kids mama?" She stood and waited for a reply.

"Of course, have fun." Dr. Mike smiled and watched her young daughter run to join a ball game. "I don't know how she can run around right after we ate so much." They all laughed.

"Yeah, I'm about ready for a nap I think," Andrew smiled and leaned back to rest on his elbows.

"How's the homestead coming along Matthew?" Asked Dr. Mike as she leaned back against Sully.

"Slow and steady but it is comin' along," replied Matthew as he reached for another cookie. "We almost have the whole foundation finished, but we need to head back out and find some more stones."

"Why do we have to wait for it to be finished to get married?" blurted Anne, interrupting any reply that may have been coming to Matthew.

"We don't need to talk about this here," Matthew replied slowly and with a tone of anger in his voice. "We made that decision when we got engaged."

"Why can't we talk about it here, this is all family," Anne spoke in defiance. "And _we_ made no such decision, _you_ decided on your own." Everyone else tried to keep their eyes elsewhere, away from the awkward scene unfolding. "Colleen, I know for a fact that you think we should be able to get married without a house. Can you tell your brother that please?"

Colleen looked up with wide eyes when she heard her name, "Well…I think that both your arguments have merit to them."

"Colleen, tell him what we talked about, about the stupid pride men have." Colleen looked around her family members for help. _Just stay out of it Colleen_, Andrew implored as their eyes met.

"No, this is between you and me," Matthew voice had risen. "We'll get married when I say we get married, and I say after the house is built." Anne's jaw dropped, she was enraged Matthew had spoken to her like a child.

"Maybe I don't want to marry you anymore!" Anne yelled, tears streaming down her face. She got up from the blanket and ran. Everyone looked towards Matthew, expecting him to get up and follow her.

"Don't let this one fight ruin your relationship, Matthew." He turned to see Dr. Mike starring at him. "You love her more than what this fight is worth."

Matthew looked toward the direction Anne had run and back towards his family. Matthew didn't move.

…to be continued…


End file.
